West Coast Pirates 2018 Season Review

The West Coast Pirates SG Ball Cup season is over for another year, and despite ending with a 0-9 record to finish bottom of the standings, Coach Daniel Manning is proud of his side’s efforts.

“All season we just kept pushing,” Manning said.

“At the end of the day they always turn up to play football and that’s what I’m proud about.”

After the team’s third winless season in a row, Manning says the focus will be on increasing the intensity in 2019.

“As a group, we’re trying to work on staying in the contests for 70 minutes, not just 15 or 20,” he said.

“We need to play for a full 70 minutes. We know that. The club knows that and we just need to move forward.”

West Coast showed glimpses of promise throughout the season, but were impacted by constant injuries as they struggled to roll out the same lineup in consecutive weeks.

Captain Tyler Hunt was expected to have a standout competition after impressing last season but was restricted to just two games due to a back injury.

Bowman Stein’s season was cut short after having surgery on a hip injury, while first-team players Jack Holt, Jackson Bond, Potaka, Oliver Callan and Leighmon Hohaia Katene missed chunks of the season.

Stein and Daniel Potaka finished the season as the Pirates’ leading try-scorers with three apiece, while the same duo led the team with 12 points alongside goal-kicker Willem Smith.

Smith converted six of his nine attempts this season after taking on the kicking duties half-way through the season.

The players will return to their local clubs for the 2018 NRL WA season.

Trials for the 2019 West Coast Pirates are now open, with a try-out to be held on Saturday 14 April at Gloucester Park between 9am-11am.